Summerside council commits to dollar-per-year land lease for science discovery centre

Concept art of the Summerside-based P.E.I. Discovery and Research Centre. - Contributed

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - The City of Summerside has reaffirmed a commitment to a proposed science discovery centre to be built near the end of Mackenzie Drive.

The centre is a joint project of the Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association (BBEMA) and the Y Service Club of Summerside.

The two groups have been working on the initiative for several years.

The City of Summerside previously committed three acres of municipally-owned land on Mackenzie Drive to the project. The offer was for a lease of $1 annually for 50 years. Tax abatements were also part of the city’s contribution to the project.

However, in 2018, another project dubbed as a discovery centre was announced by a group in Charlottetown to be built in the provincial capital.

With a potential rival project in the works, BBEMA and the Y Service Club went back to council to express their intention to continue with the project and asked for a renewed commitment from the municipality.

That request was granted through a motion during council’s Monday, Jan. 21 meeting. The city’s contribution has not changed.

The total cost of the Summerside Discovery Centre project has been pegged at $6.5 million. The proponents expect to raise most of that money through an upcoming capital campaign.